Hit Machine 3000 part deux

At the very start of September I blogged about receiving some cards in a giveaway from Jeff at Wax Pack Wonders. It included a numbered card from an insert series that Pacific released to celebrate Tony achieving his 3000th hit in the game.

I recently watched Tony's speech from his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and he talked about how when he scored his 2000th hit his former team-mate Jerald Clark was on first base for their opponents, the Colorado Rockies. He said he remembered saying to Jerald, "I need to get another thousand hits." Six years to the day later, he snagged his 3000th.

The Pacific insert series was called Hit Machine 3000, which is such a turn-of-the-Millennium phrase it's almost comical. 

I said in my blog-post about Jeff's generosity that "It might not be easy tracking any more of these down." Then, strangely, two cards appeared from that set on eBay from a UK-based seller. I thought they were a bit over-priced at first and I watched them as they cycled through their first auction period. They got relisted at a slightly lower price and I rewatched them again. Then, 24 hours before the auction ended the seller made an offer to everyone watching, and I decided to buy them. 

Card Number 454: Pacific Omega Hit Machine 3000, 1999; #8

Pacific declared Tony an American Hero on this card. The picture would be slightly over the top, without the fireworks!

This is card number 482 in the 3000 print run. Perhaps I should have kept this for a few blog posts' time and it could have been card number 482 on this blog too!

The back shows Tony in a more natural pose - one of the back rooms in the stadium. There aren't many 'behind the scenes' photos on baseball cards. 

Card Number 455: Pacific Omega Hit Machine 3000, 1999; #9

On the 9th card in the insert series, Tony was described as a 'Fan Favorite'.

Although it a posed photo like the previous card, Tony looks much happier here than he looked when he was draped in the American flag. This card is numbered 681 / 3000.

On the back we have a photo of him signing autographs. One of my favourite kinds of photos of Tony 'in action'.

On the back it mentions Tony's humanitarian award in 1995 and also his charitable foundation. There is a moment in his Hall of Fame speech when he mentions the community service team at the Padres and just says, "We've done a lot of good work, haven't we?" That outward focus and care for others is part of Tony's lasting legacy.

Total: 455 cards.